Re-Discovery
by Ace-Attorney-Tee
Summary: Armin realizes that he knows nothing about the platinum blonde girl he's known for so long, and makes it a mission to uncover everything about her- much to her dismay. Older!Aruani AU, rated K (for now huehuehue) There's romance, and humor, I guess? Currently in progress. I don't own any of the characters from the series, I just write the cute stories.
1. Introductions

An older version of the babies I hold so dearly~ I **do not own them**, but I can smush their faces together in an attempt to make it canon (too late ;^; )

Get ready for a world of mixed feelings, folks!

* * *

_"That's it, drop and give me twenty!"_

General Leonhardt was the toughest instructor around. She taught well, presumably meant well, and had the toughest soldiers, but she was ruthlessly strict. If you had been so lucky as to have her as your instructor, you might not even survive. The majority of her students dropped out, but the remainder was strong, hard willed, and ready for anything. There was a lot of controversy over her methods, but no one could deny that they were effective.

_ "And if you look here, you'll notice..."_

General Arlert, however, wasn't so harsh. He mostly taught inside the classroom, but he also had excellent insight on the field, He was an amazing strategist, though not as gifted in the physical department as Leonhardt. He was kind, forgiving, and easily flustered- some called this being a "pushover".

These two, seniors of the Military Police and Scout Regiment respectively, were very gifted leaders. Polar opposites in both ideals and methods, these two were paired up for conjoined training so each could cover the subject the other lacked in. This kind of training was recently introduced, and proved to be very successful, though the instructors themselves didn't quite enjoy the process.

"Annie, can we talk for a moment?" Although the two had known each other for- what, 13 years- Leonhardt wasn't used to the informal address anymore.  
"What is it, Arlert?" On the contrary (as usual), Arlert winced at the cold way she addressed him.

"I want to talk about the recruits- specifically your disciplinary measures. Don't you think you're being a little too..." Armin began, but immediately regretted it. He most certainly _did _have a problem with it, but the icy glare Annie was giving him when he looked up from his feet made him squirm a bit.  
"...harsh on them?" He finished, his voice slowly lowering in volume as the adrenaline flowed out of his mind.

Annie snorted, and shifted her weight onto one leg. "Not really. It gets them to listen, unlike your methods."

"B-But you're pushing them beyond their limits! Some of them don't even make it to their graduation!"

"Well, if they couldn't survive training, how could I expect them to live as soldiers? If they don't learn to live, they shouldn't have applied."

Armin was taken aback by that response, along with the deadpan stare that came with it. She was **serious** about this! He couldn't believe that she could bare treating recruits like that, let alone any human being- she had to be joking!

"Annie, you can't possibly mean that!"

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

...Or had she?

"We-Well, I don't believe y-...you're not that..."

Come to think of it, Armin could never tell how she thought, or what she was thinking. She was always distant, cold, and wasn't too keen on talking about herself, let alone anything. This plan was going downhill fast.

"Not that what?" Annie questioned suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"..." All Armin could do was stare a the ground, shifting his feet and muttering curses. _Why, why me? I just can't bear to see cadets in so much pain, but...it does work, and...ugh, why did I have to open my mouth?_

Annie let out a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle, making Armin look up immediately. "Oh, Arlert." She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "When will you learn. I'm not some happy-go-lucky girl, like you think I am. Honestly, I thought you were smarter than that."

_Ouch._

"Now come on, we have cadets to train." She gave Armin a look full of mock-pity as she started to walk off, leaving Armin to stand there, collecting his thoughts.


	2. Wonder

Time had passed between the two teacher's brief argument. Both of their feelings remained the same as they had been, but Armin wanted to avoid anymore awkward conflict, and he needed more time to gather his thoughts and evidence to retaliate, in a last-ditch attempt to get his feelings across to Annie. He knew she wasn't one for the "feelings" troupe, but he thought maybe, if he just got to know her better, he could pull this off somehow.

Annie, however, was thinking about other things. Her feelings towards Armin were always of a sort of respect- of course, she didn't like the way he carried himself, or how he fought, or dealt with situations, but the way he could think through problems, use strategy and plan efficiently was an admirable trait in her eyes. Of course, she couldn't feel any more complacent about the way he thought of her and her training...or that's what she'd have herself believe. Buried deep in her mind was a worry and concern of his feelings toward her, and if she could be seen as a respectable authority in his eyes the way she had seen him. These thoughts were immediately pushed back every time they surfaced, though, and dismissed as weak and wrong. _Why should I care about how anyone else thinks of me,_ she would think to herself, _especially that featherweight Arlert. You're getting too soft, Annie. _

Annie always hoped that Armin would never find these hidden fears, let alone even try, but she knew of how keen he was, and only braced herself for the inevitable, even for all these years. And, of course, Armin was not one to push, especially with matters so delicate, but he always wanted to know what was behind her eyes, what was going on in her mind, and what she thought of the world around her. He usually thought of this wonder as just his natural curiosity, but he was having suspicions as to if it was something more, something that had more to do with _her._

During a lunch break, Armin noticed Annie heading to her quarters instead of joining the rest of seniors in their designated cafeteria. He was tempted to follow her, to talk with her whilst no one else was there, so they could bond faster. Armin knew that she hated talking about herself (mostly from past attempts), but he hoped being my themselves would make things easier. He made up a quick excuse to his companions so that he could trail the woman he wanted to know every so badly, but soon started to question his more-than-conspicuous behavior. _I feel a little silly, going to such lengths to know more about her, but...I feel like I _have _to._

A knock on Annie's door made her jump a little in her seat. She whipped her head to the door, expecting the worst, but it never came.  
Another light _knock_ came, and she slowly stood up to answer it. She reached for the door handle, but for good measure, put her ear up to the door to see if she could hear anything that sounded off-putting. But from the other side of the door, she could only hear light breathing and the shifting of clothes. She drew her head back from the door, and stood to her full height as she swung the door open.

"A-Arlert?"

* * *

Sorry for a short-looking chapter! It just doesn't have a lot of inter-changing dialogue this time around. I promise the next chapter will though!


	3. Starting Over

So, sorry this took a little while! I've been busy for a week or two, and frankly haven't had the time to update. But, here I am! And this chapter does indeed have more dialogue in it than the last chapter, as promised. Enjoy!

* * *

"A-Arlert?"

The golden haired man looked at Annie as if he was surprised she'd opened the door. His face turned a little pink as he spoke up,  
"Hi, Annie. Mind if I j-join you?" He squirmed and blushed, but kept looking straight at Annie. _He looks just like a child_, she mused.

"...Sure, come in." Annie replied, unsure of how this would turn out. Armin sighed and walked in, sitting down on a chair in the corner. She closed the door, looking around to see if this was some kind of experiment, or test. After a few seconds, her guest giggled.

"Don't worry, I came alone." _Even if I had offered for others to come, they most likely wouldn't have. _Armin's eyes lowered as he thought this, and he pushed a few locks of hair behind his ear.

Annie closed the door slowly, and sat back down on her bed. "So, did you come here to ask me something, or what?" She turned her attention to Armin, and he jumped a little at her voice.

"No, actually, I just kind of wanted to, you know...hang out? Is that what the kids say?" He joked.

Annie was taken aback- both by the lame use of slang _and_ his reason for being here- and blushed a little. She whipped her head away, looking instead at the door, so she could think. _He wants to...and with me...? Why? Should I be...happy?_ She was panicked mentally, but her face stayed the same stoic expression, if not a little bit exasperated. After a couple seconds, she finally gathered the courage to look at him again, his face smiling- wait, _smiling?_

"I- What's that look about?" She huffed.

Armin's face immediately flushed, and he stuttered as he spoke. "O-oh, I...uh, I was just th-thinking is all. Yeah, just thinking." he gulped down his panic, and sighed as he calmed down. _Jeez, Arlert, what are you doing? You can't just stare like that, idiot._ He berated himself as if he was still a child, but to him, when it came down to her, he would always be that naive 15 year old he was when he first met her. She had captured his heart then, and those feelings were still tucked away. Now that they had a chance to emerge, they were back in full swing, much to Armin's distress.

"...Alright." was her response. She was still a little suspicious of him, but when she looked at him as he was blushing and squirming under her gaze, she couldn't help but to stifle a small giggle. She sighed dismissively, and continued eating. The pregnant pause that followed wasn't as awkward as Annie had expected it to be, as quiet as it was in her room it also felt natural to her. Perhaps just a little different with her guest, but welcome nonetheless._  
_

Armin on the other hand, was searching for some way to break the ice- rather, break it again. He could remember a situation like this before, creating an excuse to sit by her when they were trainees, trying to find a topic he thought may be interesting to her, even on some occasions hoping to impress her, let alone get any expression besides boredom on her face. Though, after a while, he _did_ pick up on some of her cues, like how her lips twitched when she was interested, or how she would cross her legs when she was angry, or..._Oh god, I sound like some sort of stalker._ He hadn't realized how much he'd payed attention to her until he thought about it. _Maybe I should just calm down, and...start over._ Yes, start over. It had been so long, he needed to get to know her all over again. To re-discover all those little things about her. He might now be fully in love with her now, but god damn if he wasn't going to try again._  
_

Annie noticed out of the corner of her eye that Armin had stood up, and was walking towards her place on the bed. She looked up as he stood over her, a hand extended out in front of her. He smiled as she took his hand, and he shook his firmly. Annie realized what he was doing, and played along, though she was confused. Looking up from her hand to see Armin's face, she saw that he was smiling, his head slightly tilted to the side and his eyes closed. Her eyes widened as she became even more confused as to just what he was doing. 

"Hello, my name is Armin Arlert. Your name is?"

...Introducing himself?

"Leonhardt. Annie Leonhardt." She exchanged.

He opened his eyes to look into hers. She was obviously confused, but he could understand that. He let go of her hand, and started to walk out of the door. "I'll be seeing you around, I'm sure." He joked, and as he left, Annie almost wanted to go after him, to demand an explanation. But, somehow...this felt right. She sat back down on her chair, and sighed.

_Just what does he have in mind _this_ time?_


	4. Beginnings

HAHAHA I'M SO BAD AT UPDATING SORRY GUYS

* * *

Annie slowly shifted awake in her bed, the dim light of early dawn flooding into her room. She stirred for a bit before prying herself out of bed and getting ready. She was still a little confused by Armin's last visit. Why had he introduced himself? It's not like they were just meeting for the first time. Though, now that she thought about it, she didn't know much of the man, even though they had known of each other for over a decade. This wasn't very uncommon for her, however- she barely had gotten to know anyone from her original cadet training, not that she cared about the other trainee's lives back then. She couldn't say that she hadn't been curious about what others were like, but she had dismissed those curiosities as unimportant, and instead focused on her training, so not really knowing anyone personally was certainly nothing new. But now, this man Arlert shows up, and introduces himself out of the blue- she almost had no choice but to ask about his reasons. He didn't offer any explanation at the time, and to be frank, she was a little dazed by it, so she hadn't stopped him as he left. Annie had always thought of him as peculiar in that he had different ideals than the rest of the people they knew of, but now- she wasn't sure what to make of him.

Training went by as usual that day, except for the usual bickering between the teachers. Armin and Annie barely spoke to each other, except for a few acknowledgements here and there. Annie could tell that he did look at her several times, however. _Why the hell is he looking at me instead of the cadets? Focus on the students, Arlert._ She silently reprimanded him with a quick glare, and he looked back towards the students they were training. When lunch rolled around, and the students eagerly left for their (albeit short) break, Annie stopped Armin, grabbing him by the shoulder so he spun to look at her. "Ah- uh, hi, Annie!" His voice wavered from shock at the sudden contact, and he turned quickly to look at her.

Annie only glared for a second before asking "What the hell was yesterday about?"

The blonde man blinked, and the brushed his hair back behind his head. "O-oh. Yeah, that's right." His face grew a little redder, and he glanced around the open field. "Well, I uh...I just thought we didn't really know each other well as kids, and...I thought maybe we should start again." Her expression didn't waver as he spoke, so he hurriedly tried to explain himself. "You know, I didn't know much about you, and I- It was the best thing I could think of at the time." He sighed, and his head lowered. "It was pretty weird, but...I feel like I need to get to know you over again. I want us to be friends." He looks at her as he says the last sentence, and Annie's lip twitches a little. _  
_

"..._Tch._" was all she could reply with, and her hand released Armin's shoulder and fell back to her side. "Moron." she whispered under her breath, turning away from him to walk to her house. Armin paused for a bit, and considered following her, but he stopped as he heard her call back to him. "Well, aren't you coming? Lunch doesn't last very long these days, you know."

And so, he sat with her in her room again. They chatted idly about whatever- though it was more Armin asking questions and Annie replying with short answers. He still wasn't very comfortable with prying into her life, but he didn't really want to bring up anyone else. He still had contact with Eren and Mikasa, as far as he knew everyone else was doing fine, and he didn't really want to potentially bring back any foul memories. So, they talked there in peace, and got to know each other. Annie wasn't so pleased with the questions he kept asking, but she stilled answered them. _He wants us to be friends,_ she would remember. She wasn't opposed to the idea, but she was soon reminded why she didn't talk with others much. Somehow, though. with Armin, it was different. It was...welcome? Yeah, welcome. That's an ok word.


End file.
